May 5, 1894. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
565 
BUSH HILL, ENFIELD. 
The area occupied by glass in the nursery of 
Messrs. Hugh Low & Co,, Bush Hill, Enfield, is 
very extensive. Two main roads run between the 
blocks of glass, and on each side of one of them the 
closely-packed houses are each 120 ft. long, and on 
one side of the other they are 90 ft. long. There 
are therefore three blocks of houses running across 
the nursery, and all are span-roofed. In a warm 
propagating house, amongst other things, are large 
quantities of Bougainvilleas, Stephanotis, and 
Gardenias. Amongst a collection of Coleus we 
noted such new ones as Mrs. F. Sander, Princess 
of Wales, Princess May, Duke of York, Empress of 
India, and Princess Beatrice, all characteristic and 
distinct. Next to this is a cool house, with a large 
and unusually healthy batch of Saxifraga sarmen- 
tosa tricolor superba. Young plants of Tacsonia 
Van Volxemii from cuttings are grown in quantity, 
as is Ampelopsis Veitchi. Seedlings of the latter 
show a strange departure from the plants as usually 
seen. About 100 varieties of Cannas are grown, 
showing great variation in the flowers and foliage. 
Konigin Charlotte, with scarlet flowers edged with 
yellow, is an improvement 
upon the highly-esteemed 
Madame Crozy. 
Several houses are de¬ 
voted to the cultivation of 
Ferns, such kinds as Lo- 
maria gibba, Pteris serru- 
lata, P. s. compacta, P. 
cretica, P. c. cristata, P. 
tremula, Adiantum cune- 
atum, Davallia fijiensis 
major, and D. bullata 
being grown in quantity. 
Most of them form large 
bushy and well furnished 
specimens, although only 
in 48-size pots. A large 
number of houses are de¬ 
voted to the cultivation of 
Palms for decorative pur¬ 
poses. Small specimens 
are plentiful, but a large^ 
proportion consists of use¬ 
ful stuff, varying from 3ft. 
to 6 ft. high, and all in 
rude health. Plants of 
Latania borbonica are 
furnished with nine to 
eleven leaves. Other popu¬ 
lar kinds areCoryphi aus¬ 
tralis, Rhaphis flabellifor- 
Cnis, Seaforthia elegans, 
Cocos Weddeliana, Areca 
lutescens, Chamaerops 
excelsa.KentiaFosteriana, 
and K. Belmoreana. The 
latter is to be the Palm 
of the near future, on ac¬ 
count of its dwarf,compact 
habit and the way it retains even its earliest formed 
leaves, as compared with K. Fosteriana, which 
always loses its early leaves when a few others are 
made. Many of them are planted out in shallow 
beds with a slate bottom, so that they can readily 
be lifted with all their roots and transferred to pots. 
An enormous quantity of Dracaena indivisa is kept 
in 48-size pots. Ficus elastica and F. e. variegata 
may be seen in all stages from the inserted eyes to 
3 ft. high. There must be thousands of them upon 
the place. Another indispensable plant is Asparagus 
plumosus nanus. 
Shrubby flowering plants include many subjects, 
such as Roses, Bouvardias, Solanum capsicastrum. 
Marguerites, last year’s plants of Gardenias, Hoya 
carnosa, and Hydrangeas, including H. paniculata 
grandiflora, H. Thos. Hogg, the beautiful rosy- 
flowered H. rosea, and H. hortensis. The latter is 
now flowering by the houseful. Cytisus scoparius 
Andreanus, with its velvety-brown wings, is now 
flowering, and the golden masses of the sweet- 
scented Cytisus racemosus have to be protected 
from fertilisation by bees. Roses are quite a feature 
of this nursery, both under glass and out of doors ; 
there are over 400 varieties on the place. Tea 
Roses of various sizes monopolise many houses. 
They have been grafted in different batches, and the 
earliest ones are being transferred to 9 in. pots to be 
trained up the roofs of the houses in a double row 
on each side. The stronger growing ones make 
growths of 15 ft. in the course of the season. 
Marechal Niel gets considerable attention, and 
Turner’s Crimson Rambler is being propagated as 
rapidly as possible to meet an ever-increasing and 
very lively demand. 
Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums fill one house, and the 
show, regal and decorative kinds monopolise many 
houses. About 150 varieties are grown; and the 
plants about a year old form sturdy, bushy specimens 
well set with buds and now coming into bloom. 
They are all in 48-size pots. Very handsome is St. 
Blaise, a dark salmon-red with crimson upper petals 
and a black blotch. Closely allied is Mrs. W. H. 
Smith, but of a soft rose instead of salmon-red. 
Curiously enough the first flower to open on each 
variety is uniform in colour without any blotches 
whatever. About 15,000 to 20,000 plants of Clematis 
are grafted every year, and may now be seen in all 
stages, from the bud accommodated in cases, to speci¬ 
mens now in fnll growth. Older plants plunged out- 
of-doors cover a considerable space. A houseful of 
Indian Azaleas shows a remarkable profusion of 
bloom, including many beautiful varieties. The 
recently-produced varieties of Kalosanthes coccinea 
are propagated and grown by the thousand. 
Mignonette, Rodanthe Manglesi, and R. M. alba are 
now in full bloom, and very engaging in their re¬ 
spective ways. Some houses are occupied with 
Orchids, including Laelia purpurata, Cattleya gigas, 
C. Mossiae, C. Trianae, C. amethystoglossa, and a 
house of cool Odontoglossums. They are grown 
here for the sake of the clear and smokeless atmos¬ 
phere, but as they approach the flowering stage they 
are mostly sent to Clapton. There are four and a half 
houses of young Cyclamens in 60-size pots, and they 
will be fit for transference into 32-size before 
autumn. Euonymus of various kinds are now in 
their brightest stage in cold frames. 
Heaths have long been a feature of Messrs. Low’s 
establishment, and it is really surprising to note the 
numbers still cultivated and which must find a de¬ 
mand. Of course the more popular and useful kinds 
only are grown, including large quantities of Erica 
ventricosa coccinea minor, E. Cavendishi, E. 
Spenceriana, E. cupressina, and E. candidissima. 
The latter is an improvement upon E. hyemalis alba, 
because the flowers are pure white. The coppery 
salmon flowers of E. hybrida are also pretty. E. 
persolu^ alba has not yet finished flowering. Other 
varieties of E. ventricosa coming on are E. v. 
tricolor, E. v. superba, and Bothwelliana. The 
young plants coming, on for next year are very 
abundant in cold frames. 
New Holland plants proper occupy several bouses 
and add largely to the interest of the nursery, and 
the exhibits of them at various shows do much to 
revive a taste for these beautiful subjects which 
flower during winter and spring, while many of them 
' continue till well into summer. For some time past 
the. Acacias have oeen charming, including A. armata, 
A. Drummondi, A. Riceana, A. verticillata, A. longi- 
folia, A. 1 . magnifica, A. cordata, and A. ovata. 
The foliage of A. lophantha and A. dealbata is the 
ornamental part of these species. A. armala undu- 
lata is a slow growing one, with a drooping habit. 
The bulk of them are grown, but a number take the 
form of standards, the stem of which is grown to a 
height of ft. to 3ft. before a head is allowed to 
form. The flagrant Boronia megastigma, and B. 
heterophylla are treated in the same way, the latter 
being simply masses of bloom. The Pimeleas grown 
are, P. spectabilis pink, P. decussata and P. 
Hendersoni purple, P. Neippergiana, white, and P. 
elegans, white with orange anthers, and exceedingly 
pretty. Leptospermum bullatum has white flowers 
not unlike those of the Hawthorn, but larger. The 
showy Chorizema Lowii a 
hybrid between C. elegans 
and C. ilicifolia has been 
flowering since Christmas 
and is still laden with 
bloom. The standard is 
orange and the wings 
crimson-red, while the 
blossoms are large and 
showy. Fabiana imbri- 
cati is a Chilian p'ant and 
resembles a white- 
flowered Heath. The 
large dark purple flo\yers 
of Aphlexis macrantha 
purpurea stand out very 
conspicuously and claim 
attention for their bold 
character and distinctness 
from all other vegetation. 
Side by side with this 
variety are the cherry- 
red A. spectabilis and the 
rosy flow'ers of A.Woodsii, 
A. Wardii, A. Brucei and 
A. humilis; the four latter 
are all very dwarf in habit 
with more spreading 
leaves than A.macrantha. 
With exception of Aph¬ 
lexis, all the above New 
Holland plants are grown 
in bush and standard form. 
Young vines are very 
extensively grown here 
and may be seen in all 
stages, from the newly 
started eyes, to one-year- 
old canes of considerable 
length. Six to eight houses are filled with them. The 
manner of rearing the young canes after they reach 
a certain stage is to stand them along the sides of 
the houses and train them up under the roof, so that 
they get the full benefit of light. One large house 
contains a collection of Figs in pots. They are of 
various sizes, and all in a thrifty condition. 
- ^ - 
THE SNOWY MESPILUS. 
The spring being an unusually early one in many 
respects, the snowy beauty of this profusely 
flowering tree is almost over for a season, to be 
renewed again in June or July by the purple berries 
and again in the autumn by the ruddy glory of the 
dying foliage. It is more often seen in the form of a 
large shrub than a tree, but aged specimens when 
planted in isolated positions and allowed to assume 
their natural form and dimensions, form a round 
headed tree 30 ft. to 40 ft. high, and when laden 
with snow white blossoms are well entitled to the 
above name. The botanical name is Amelanchier 
canadensis ; but the synonymous name of A. 
Botryapium is more often employed in gardens. 
Both these names are more often forgotten than 
otherwise, till the showy character of the blossom in 
spring arouses a desire to obtain it again. ^ Being a 
member of the Rose family it competes wdth several 
of its near relations for the attention of the planter, 
but the drooping racemes give the tree a distinctive¬ 
ness of its own, very little concealed by the young 
leaves just commencing to unfold. 
Cattleya Trianae Schpoder^e. 
